A Remedy for Youth Unemployment – the dual training and education system in Germany as a chance for Europa
Organiser: Europabaum e.V. Donzdorf (Germany) 17.07. – 26.07 2015.
After participating in the youth exchange meeting in Calasparra in 2013 on the theme of youth unemployment, the young people from Germany appeared very concerned. At the time a resolve towards support and a call for greater solidarity was already developing. With our project we now want to translate the words into deeds. In partnership with the German participants Europabaum wants to motivate young people aged between 14 and 18 years to become mobile and to come to Germany for training and if need be to remain here.
We are inviting them to the EU Youth Exchange in Donzdorf to present to them ways in which they can improve their situation in life. Explaining and describing the successful German model of dual vocational training (including the Cooperative State University) plays a central role in this.
The main aim of our project is to give the young people a better understanding of the dual education system by means of the
various activities we have selected and using methods of informal learning.
We make contact with employers, visit training centres in industry, trade and service as well as the career information centre (BIZ) of the Göppingen employment agency.
The young people get to know both sides of the dual education system – school or college and company. They can talk to and put questions to trainees or students and to training instructors (entrepreneurs and teachers) as well as to politicians, trade union representatives, the IHK (Chamber of Industry and Commerce) and church organisations. The young people also have the opportunity to gain practical experience by getting a feel for operational processes over the course of two mornings.
In a workshop on the Thursday a synopsis will be compiled and in addition a joint closing declaration (charter) will be drawn up. The subsequent closing festivities will be organised with the involvement of the young participants.
As part of the Donzdorf town festival on 25.07/26.07 the groups will present to the wider public the results of their work, using wall charts, on the shared stall.
The individual partner groups will take part in the town sprint race and will be asked to present cultural entertainment typical of their country on the stages set up for the festival.
In addition an excursion to the automobile city of Stuttgart is planned. The participants will be shown Donzdorf and the local area during a Stauferland tour.
The youth exchange will conclude with a sports programme (team sports and the German Sports Badge) that according to the experience of young people in earlier youth exchanges is ideally suited to get to know each other better.